


a pumpkin for your thoughts

by dawnshine



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 10k of dumb flirting, Alternate Universe, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Halloween, Implied/Referenced Sex, Light-Hearted, M/M, Misunderstandings, Strangers to Lovers, pumpkin patch meet-cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27193885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawnshine/pseuds/dawnshine
Summary: Jisung meets a cute employee during his annual trip to the pumpkin patch with his niece. Suddenly his traditional one-time visit has turned into two. Then three. Then six....And so many more that he loses count, pumpkins piling up uselessly in his home and his budding crush quickly worming his way into his heart.»Russian
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 93
Kudos: 440
Collections: MINSUNG SEASON: Colourful Autumn 2020





	a pumpkin for your thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> this is my entry for the minsung ficfest [colorful autumn](https://twitter.com/minsungseason)! my color is orange, as evidenced by the copious amounts of pumpkins that jisung purchases, minho's hair, and halloween/autumn in general i guess. 
> 
> this is pretty rushed and ridiculous but i hope someone enjoys LMAO. also i hope ppl get the spongebob reference or i’m gonna look dumb  
> (p.s. for ESL folks the title is a bad play on the phrase “a penny for your thoughts” which basically just means “what are you thinking?” it’s not important just thought i’d mention it haha)

This isn’t exactly how Jisung wants to spend his afternoon.

He’d stayed up all night binging this terrible drama that wasn’t worth one bit of his time, had gotten called in to work on three hours of sleep, dealt with one too many nasty customers, and looked forward to nothing more all day than coming home and delving into the comfort of his bed, burrowing himself in his comforter and conking out for an hour or twelve before he had to do his homework.

There was just one little thing that had completely slipped his mind―a little thing by the name of Eunji, his sweet niece who he’d promised to take to the pumpkin patch today and pick out some pumpkins to later carve with her. She seems to have already learned the power of flattery at her young age, insisting that she prefers Jisung’s carving skills to that of her parents’. Jisung won’t deny the silly sense of pride it fills him with, nor could he deny her request when she’s counting on the world’s number one pumpkin carver.

So instead of the warmth of his bed, he’s out in the chill of autumn, cold hands buried in his coat pockets as he weaves between rows of pumpkins ripe for the taking and loose children in an attempt to keep up with the excitable four-year-old.

Not that it’s unbearable; no, he loves his sweet little niece and the pair of them always have fun together. Furthermore, he loves Halloween, loves autumn, and his spirits are lifted considerably by the atmosphere of the place―wooden cutouts of ghosts and witches, haystacks, scarecrows, and happy children (some already in costume weeks before the holiday) at every corner. He just wishes he weren’t bone-tired, feeling an unfortunate sense of kinship with the plastic skeleton decor on display.

"Wait for Sungie!" he calls after Eunji, stumbling when he has to sidestep to avoid a child barreling into him. He would never forgive himself if he lost his niece at a pumpkin patch of all places, and the puffy orange jacket she wears doesn’t exactly help her stand out. Jisung pulls his round glasses out of his pocket with a huff when she doesn’t slow down, at least keeping an eye on her after she’s long abandoned holding his hand.

"Eunji!" he tries again, louder. "How about this one?"

That gets her attention finally, after several tries of begging the kid to slow down. She waddles back over curiously to examine the plump, round pumpkin Jisung is crouched in front of.

"No, not that one," she says with finality. Jisung resists the urge to groan in exasperation, feeling like they must have gone through at least half of the patch by now with nothing catching her discerning eye.

"What’s wrong with it?" he pouts, turning it around. It looks like prime carving material to him.

"I don’t like its hat."

"Hat?" Jisung tilts his head. "You mean the stem?"

She nods matter-of-factly. "It’s too short."

Jisung considers it. It is a stumpy little stem, but he hadn’t imagined it would matter when the rest of it is a perfect canvas for whatever he’d be helping her carve this year. At least he knows what to look for now, he thinks with a sigh.

"Okay," he says, standing with the pumpkin in hand. "This one will just be my baby then."

"Excuse me," a gentle voice says from the other side of the row Jisung had picked the pumpkin up from. He briefly worries that he had just picked up a pumpkin someone else had their eye on and that he’d have to fight them for it, until he looks up and sees the pumpkin logo on the speaker’s white shirt. Ah, an employee. He won’t have to fight for his pumpkin after all.

Jisung barely registers the pumpkin held carefully in the stranger’s arms as his gaze travels upwards to a shock of burnt orange head of hair topped by a cat-ear headband, and finally a set of beautiful eyes and sculpted features that make his mouth go a little dry. There’s a black dot on his nose and whiskers drawn across his cheeks, an adorable contrast to his ridiculously hot features.

"How’s this one?" the employee asks, tilting the pumpkin in his arms downwards, presumably so Eunji can see the stem. His eyes are trained on her, allowing Jisung to stare shamelessly at the way his full lips pull into a pretty smile, eyes creasing.

Holy _fuck_ , he’s stunning.

He can’t tear his eyes away even when Eunji gasps and claps her little hands together. "Yes!" she squeals, latching onto Jisung’s coat. "Can we get that one, Sungie?"

It’s then that the stranger’s wide, shining eyes meet Jisung’s to wait for an answer, and he nearly chokes on his spit in an attempt to produce words. He looks at the pumpkin for the first time, nearly identical to the one he’d picked save for the long stem apparently better suited to Eunji’s taste.

"Uh, sure! Yeah, of course," Jisung says quickly, the stranger beaming in response and making Jisung’s stomach churn almost violently.

"If you’re ready to check out, I can help you over there." He nods his head towards a little booth decorated in purple and orange banners.

"Yeah, I think we’re good," Jisung agrees, careful not to bump into any wandering children with his pumpkin on the way over. He plops it down on the booth next to the other and chews his lip, letting his gaze wander around to avoid staring again while the employee weighs their first pumpkin and calculates the cost.

There's a large plastic cauldron packed full of small wrapped candies on the edge of the counter, one that catches both Jisung and Eunji's eyes before the toddler looks up at him with a silent question.

"Go ahead," the employee encourages. "It's free."

Eunji squeaks out a _thank you!_ before digging her chubby little hand in and fishing out a mini chocolate bar. Jisung eyes the assortment of candy longingly for a moment, mouth watering and desperately craving the sweet, milky chocolate, but he ultimately decides to practice self-restraint. The candy is probably only intended for children anyway.

"Don't be shy," the other man says. Jisung looks up at him, alarmed at having been caught, feeling heat creep up his neck from the pretty smile directed at him as he nods towards the candy.

"Ah, well, if you insist." He cracks a smile of his own and shrugs, trying to act like putting the chocolate in his mouth won't be the highlight of his day as he casually reaches in and grabs a piece of candy for himself. "Figured it was just for the kids."

"It is." A wink. "Just don't tell anyone. I have a family to feed."

Jisung snorts. "Don't worry, I'll take it to the grave." He punctuates his statement by lightly kicking the tombstone decoration at his feet for emphasis, eyes widening in horror when it topples over. "Shit, sorry."

He giggles at Jisung's misfortune, a disgustingly cute sound. Jisung pops a squat to upright the tombstone―styrofoam, apparently; no wonder it fell over so easily―and also to hide the embarrassed flush on his cheeks.

"The disrespect!" the employee cries dramatically. "That's my grandfather's grave!"

Jisung pulls a mortified face, clutching his chest. "Oh, I'm so sorry." He bows to the tombstone repetitively, signing a Hail Mary to top it off. The action earns him another cute giggle from the employee and a wide-eyed, concerned look from Eunji.

"Is it really?" she whispers, making them both laugh.

"No, no," Jisung assures her, patting her head. "He's just joking. You _are_ joking, right? Just so we're clear."

"No, that's definitely my grandpa's grave," he deadpans.

"Ah." Jisung nods in understanding, squinting at the inscription. "Then your grandfather's name is... Smitty Werbenmanjensen?"

"Yep," he returns with all the confidence in the world. He then stage whispers to Eunji when she still looks worried, "It's okay, I'm just joking."

"Oh," she says slowly, still eyeing the tombstone with suspicion.

Jisung chuckles softly and pulls out his wallet, retrieving a crumpled twenty and passing it over the counter. "Thanks for your help, by the way," he says, suddenly feeling braver after their lighthearted back-and-forth. "Thought we'd be stuck here all day."

"Would that be so bad?" he asks with a tilt of his head and a sly grin that sends Jisung into a mild panic, heart fluttering. There's _no_ way he's flirting with him right now. Right?

"No," Jisung answers too quickly. "I mean, I guess not, if Mr. Werbenmanjensen the Third is keeping me company."

He laughs, louder this time, and _God,_ even his _teeth_ are cute. Jisung wants to drag his hands down his face in despair at how _unfair_ it all is.

"Just Minho is fine," he says. Jisung beams at him, thrilled to learn his name. Minho heaves Jisung's pumpkin off of the counter. "I can help you carry these to your car, if you're all set...?"

"Oh." Jisung deflates a bit despite himself, wishing he could stay and flirt a little longer, but he understands when he notices a handful of people approaching with pumpkins. Minho is on the clock, after all; Jisung is grateful that he's willing to go out of his way to help at all. "Sure, thanks."

"Wait!" His attention is caught by a tug on his jacket as he lifts the other pumpkin into his arms. Eunji is looking up at him pleadingly, the hand not latched onto his coat pointing over at a hayride being boarded by children. "Can I?"

Jisung scrunches his nose in thought, shifting the pumpkin's weight to one arm while he grabs his phone with the other and checks the clock. "Sorry sweetie, no time," he tells Eunji. "Gotta get you home for your piano lesson."

"Aww, okay," Eunji says with a dejected sigh.

"Cute wallpaper," Minho pipes up, making Jisung jump when he realizes how close the other is now, practically looking over his shoulder. The proximity flusters him, and he has to take a moment to recall what exactly his phone's wallpaper is as he slips the device back into his pocket: a cute cartoony black kitten peeking out of a pumpkin, of all things.

"Thanks." Jisung grins, taking in the sight before him, Minho in his drawn-on whiskers and cat ears and pumpkin in hand. "You're a spitting image," he says as he heads towards the parking lot, Minho falling into step beside him. Eunji pads along, eating her chocolate in silence.

The corners of Minho's eyes crease as his lips curl into an appropriately feline grin. "Are you calling me cute?"

"Hey, your words, not mine."

Minho huffs indignantly, though his lips are still upturned. "And here I was, ready to return the compliment."

"Well, in that case―" Jisung pulls his keys out of his pocket as they near the car, unlocking the door with the press of a button. Eunji lets herself in first, settling in her car seat.

"No, save it," Minho interrupts, following suit when Jisung places his pumpkin in the backseat floorboard. He straightens up and dusts his hands off, facing Jisung who's awkwardly fiddling with his keys, wondering if it would be too forward (or desperate) of him to ask for Minho’s number.

"Well," Minho interrupts any brewing thoughts, "I guess I'll see you when you come back for that hayride."

Jisung raises his eyebrows, unable to hold back a smile. "Oh, are you volunteering me for more babysitting?"

"You're gonna deny that cute little face?" Minho counters, nodding towards Eunji who is in her own little world, legs kicking as she licks melted chocolate off her fingers.

"Ah, I guess not," Jisung sighs, as if he isn't delighted by the idea of coming back, of Minho _wanting_ him to come back. He supposes there's no need to ask for a phone number just yet; he doesn't want to come on too strong, and it’s a little more exciting this way anyhow. "Not sure I can say no to yours, either."

Minho's smile is brilliant as he giggles almost shyly, absently toying with one of his cat ears. "Didn't think so. I’m here every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday." He slips his hand into his pocket then, emerging with a handful of candies Jisung hadn't seen him grab and holding his hand out. Jisung blinks, moving to accept them, and before he can question it Minho is turning on his heel and walking away, waving over his shoulder.

"See you next time, Sungie!"

Jisung stands there, dumbfounded, with a handful of warm, slightly melted candy that actually feels kind of gross and a dopey smile on his face.

"Do you know him?" Eunji questions innocently, snapping Jisung out of whatever daze he'd been in.

"Oh, uh, no?" he says, embarrassed as he realizes his poor niece had been a witness to all the flirting. He wonders if she'll tell his brother. God, he hopes not. He’s sure he’ll never live it down.

He leans inside the car to check that her seatbelt had been fastened properly before closing the door and slipping into the driver's seat.

"Not really," he muses, passing half the handful of candy to the backseat. A faint smile still lingers on his lips. "But I'd like to."

🍂

Jisung can't get Minho's stupid beautiful smile out of his head. Eunji won't let the promised hayride out of hers, either.

Naturally, this leads them to the pumpkin patch a second time only two days later.

Jisung pretends to be very interested in the pumpkins on display in the front, stacked neatly on a haybale, while Minho helps a crowd of families check out. He hasn't seemed to notice Jisung's arrival yet, making polite small talk with the customers while he weighs their pumpkins and kindly offers candy to their children with a sweet smile. It takes long enough that Jisung has time to overthink, deciding to buy another pumpkin so he won't look like a loser for coming back solely for the cute boy who flirted with him (which is exactly what he's doing, hayride be damned—sorry, Eunji).

Minho is wearing a sweater today instead of the pumpkin patch t-shirt thanks to a sudden drop in temperature. It's black with orange and white accents, a line of cute little ghosts spread across his chest, and it's about two sizes too large, swallowing his hands and making him impossibly, frustratingly cuter.

Jisung's gaze must be boring into him at this point, because then Minho's eyes flicker over to him, and Jisung swears his grin turns a little brighter at the sight. Jisung raises his hand in a shy wave which the other happily returns before finishing up his business with the customers.

Once the small crowd finally disperses, Jisung leads Eunji to the counter with one hand, the other hugging a small pumpkin to his chest. He nuzzles into his scarf a bit as they approach when a crisp gust of wind makes him acutely aware of how cold his nose is.

"You're back," Minho greets, tilting the candy cauldron towards the both of them. He waves at Eunji, too, and Jisung does _not_ find his apparent affinity for kids or his friendly smile incredibly endearing. He doesn't have whiskers drawn on today, but Jisung thinks he can see a bit of makeup sparkling around his eyes―and again, cat ears atop his head. "...With another pumpkin?"

"Of course I'm back!" Jisung scoffs, accepting the candy offered to him. "I can't pass up an opportunity for free candy. Or reasonably-priced pumpkins."

"There's more where that came from," Minho says with a sloppy wink. He ducks down behind the counter and rustles around, Jisung peering over curiously as he re-emerges with a roll of tickets. He creases it at the end and rips one off, stretching over the counter to hand one to Eunji. "Here you go! Just take this to the lady over there when you’re ready and she'll let you on."

"Thank you!" she chirps, looking up at Jisung for approval before he sends her off with a nod. He fondly watches her waddle her way over, squinting at the sign in the distance that reads _Hay Rides: $5_ and shoving a hand in his pocket in search of his wallet.

"Keep it," Minho says, waving a dismissive hand as he unwraps a lollipop intended for the children and pops it into his mouth. "My treat." He reaches for the pumpkin so Jisung passes it to him and he stores it under the counter, presumably until Jisung is ready to leave.

"Oh yeah?" Jisung cocks an eyebrow, a hesitant hand lingering on his wallet just in case. "You sure you should be giving away all this stuff? I’d hate for you to be out of a job 'cause you keep passing out freebies to cute boys."

"Cute boys?" Minho repeats, an amused, lopsided grin on his face. "Who says I'm doing it for you? Maybe I just wanted to make your adorable little... uh―sister? or whatever―smile."

"Niece," Jisung corrects. "And I can pay for her myself! She doesn't need _you_ for that, thank you very much." He folds his arms, mirroring Minho's stance. "So you can admit you did it because you think I'm cute now."

Minho shakes his head, giggling. "You know what?" He rounds the counter to stand before Jisung and poke his finger into his shoulder with a surprising amount of force. "I don't think you deserve my handouts. You can repay in the form of a warm drink next time you visit."

His sweater-encased hand dives into the candy again before he turns on his heel and walks away, leaving Jisung to scramble after him, spluttering as he catches the piece of candy Minho tosses back towards him.

"Next time?" Jisung asks, walking briskly to catch up. "Who says I'm coming back?"

Minho plops down on a picnic table adorned in shiny bat-shaped streamers and blinks at him. "How else would you bring me the drink you owe me?"

Jisung huffs an incredulous laugh. "Uber Eats?" he suggests, just to give him a hard time. In reality, if Minho is going to give him a reason to come back, he’s going to take it, no matter how ridiculous the other boy is proving to be. It just so happens that he’s _Jisung’s_ brand of ridiculous. 

Minho waves a dismissive hand. "Too much trouble."

"You’re right. My bad," Jisung laughs before heaving a dramatic sigh. "So since I have _no choice,_ are you more of a coffee or hot chocolate kind of guy?"

Minho taps his lips with his lollipop in thought. "Mm, I usually go for iced americanos, but it’s a little cold, so… surprise me?" He smiles sweetly, popping the candy back into his mouth. "No lattes though."

"Noted," Jisung remarks dryly, pretending to take notes on his hand. He props his elbows on the table and rests his chin in his hands. "So do you turn all your favorite customers into errand boys, or am I special?"

Minho sucks his teeth with an exaggerated grimace. "Just you. I don’t know if that’s something to be proud of, though."

Jisung shrugs. "Well, if the price is right," he says, waving his free candy for emphasis.

"Ah, see?" Minho smiles. "I knew you were the right man for the job."

All of the lighthearted teasing evolves into random chatter for the remainder of his niece’s hayride. Jisung learns a few important things about Minho, like the fact that he’s two years older than Jisung, a dancer, and really loves his cats. Not only is he a student who works a likely underpaid job here bringing happiness to kids, but he _also_ volunteers at the animal shelter down the street.

Jisung becomes more enamored with every word. 

They bond a bit over their shared love for felines, Minho sharing some cute photos of his own, and a brief discussion about how cute and funny black cats are, fitting of the season, before Eunji’s hayride is done and Jisung waves her over.

"Did you have fun?" he asks, helping her onto the bench next to him.

"Yeah!" she beams. "We saw chickens and horsies!"

"Wow, really?! That sounds fun!"

"Mhm!" She nods enthusiastically. "And I saw a girl with a butterfly on her face! Can I get one?"

Jisung tilts his head, confused. "A butterfly?"

"She must mean the face paint," Minho chimes in. 

"Yeah!" Eunji affirms. "Paint! I want one, _pleeease?"_

"Our face painter is on lunch break," Minho explains with a sympathetic smile. He shifts in his seat, turning to look at an empty booth. "But… I can give it a try?"

Eunji, crestfallen, looks up excitedly, bouncing in her seat. "Yes, please!"

Minho is spectacularly bad at drawing butterflies.

"That sure is… a butterfly," Jisung observes, pursing his lips to stifle laughter at the wonky creature depicted on his niece’s cheek. "I don’t think they could get off the ground if their heads were that grossly large."

"Be quiet," Minho snaps, though he’s clearly trying to hold back laughter himself. Eunji swings her feet obliviously as Minho puts on the finishing touches, a questionable mixture of blue and pink for the wings.

It’s a valiant effort, and Minho’s nose scrunched up in concentration is adorable enough to make up for the butterfly’s unfortunate appearance.

"Okay…" he says slowly when he’s finished, retrieving a hand mirror to show Eunji. "Well, I’m sorry."

Jisung doubles over in laughter when Eunji’s eyes widen at the sight of her reflection, and he laughs even harder when she _squeals,_ "I love it! Thank you!"

"Really?" Minho laughs. "That’s a relief. I’ll give this to you for free too since it’s so… you know."

"I wouldn’t pay for that if you called the cops on me," Jisung laughs. Minho threatens him with putting a matching butterfly on his face and he cowers, begging for mercy.

Minho’s coworker, the original face painter, returns not long after and gives him a look of pure disgust once she sees his handiwork, apologizing profusely to Jisung who waves it off, still shaking with laughter. 

Minho sends him off with Eunji’s ugly butterfly, a little heart that he convinced Jisung to let him paint on his face, his new pumpkin, and a reminder to bring him a warm drink. Jisung leaves Minho with a significantly larger, uglier heart on his cheek that Eunji painted ("as revenge," Jisung joked) and a not-so-cryptic "I’ll think about it."

Jisung is so fucked. 

🍂

Needless to say, it didn’t take much thought before Jisung resolved to return alone just a few days later, bundled up with two hot chocolates in hand and an excuse for buying a fourth pumpkin brewing in his head.

"Sungie!" Minho greets from swaths of pumpkins and children. Jisung smiles sheepishly as he waves, embarrassed by the nickname―right, he never actually told Minho his name, huh?―and the attention as a handful of heads turn towards them.

Minho is wearing a different large sweater today―brown with a pattern of round, fuzzy black cats and pumpkins all around, his signature cat ears perched atop his orange hair as he prances over.

"Hi," Jisung greets with a grin, holding one of the cups out to Minho.

"You actually did it," he notes, accepting the hot chocolate and curling his hands around its warmth with a satisfied hum, clutching it close to his chest. 

Fuck, he’s cute.

"I always repay my debts," Jisung tells him smugly as Minho takes a grateful sip. He starts to tug at the scarf around his own neck. "Hey, uh… you want this? Looks like you need it more than I do."

"Hm?" Minho’s eyes widen. "Oh, no, that’s okay. I should’ve brought my own. Thank you though." He smiles, and it warms Jisung more than the drink in his hand.

"If you’re sure," Jisung says doubtfully as he watches a shiver run through Minho. He’ll ask again later.

He nods. "So, back for more pumpkins or just my sparkling personality?"

"Pumpkins, of course!" Jisung lies. "I’m getting one for my grandma." 

That isn’t entirely a lie. He _is_ getting it for his grandma, technically. She just doesn’t know she’s getting it yet.

"Oh?" Minho’s lips curl into a smirk as he leads Jisung to pick out a pumpkin. "You couldn’t have gotten it last time? Or the time before that?"

"No," Jisung says quickly, "she, uh, just asked yesterday. So yeah."

"Ah, I see." Minho eyes him suspiciously, like he’s trying to decide if he’s bullshitting him or not before shrugging and turning away, nursing his drink with a satisfied hum. "What kind of pumpkin would your grandma like then?"

Jisung makes up something about how she needs a pretty small one that’s easy for her to lift (really, his grandma is fit and probably wouldn’t have much trouble beating him in a fight, let alone lifting a pumpkin), to lower the cost. Before long they’ve settled on a cute little pumpkin and carted it over to the checkout counter, where Jisung pays and Minho slips him a few pieces of candy with shifty eyes, like he’s doing a drug deal.

"Are you heading out now?" Minho holds the pumpkin uncertainly, wondering if he should pass it to Jisung or stick it under the counter for safekeeping.

"Do you want me to stay?" Jisung asks, leaning over the counter and blinking up at Minho innocently.

"Why would I want that?" He scoffs, sticking the pumpkin out of sight anyway.

"’Cause you _liiike_ me," he singsongs with a grin, twirling his hair around his finger while Minho rolls his eyes and rounds the counter. Their easy rapport has confidence blooming in Jisung’s chest, emboldening him as he reaches for Minho’s arm and links it with his own. He tries to gauge Minho’s reaction, tightening his hold when his only response is the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile.

"You wish," he scoffs, leading them towards the corn maze. "I’m only nice to you so you’ll buy more pumpkins and win me employee of the month."

"Isn’t this place only open for like one month anyway?"

"That’s why it’s such a big deal, Sungie!" he laughs, nudging Jisung’s side with his elbow.

"Yeah, okay, I’ll do my best to earn you the title," Jisung says with a huff. "By the way, I just realized a minute ago I never actually told you my name."

"Sure you did. It’s Sungie."

 _"Ji_ sungie," he corrects. "Uh, Jisung."

"That’s what I said, Sungie." Minho reaches up to pinch his cheek, laughing when his hand is shooed away. "Fine, _Jisungie._ Better?"

"I guess," Jisung grumbles half-heartedly, his stomach inexplicably swirling with butterflies at the nickname.

Minho drags him into the corn maze to "put him to the test," their arms remaining linked throughout. Jisung leads them through, only hitting a few dead ends before finding the exit, Minho blinking in surprise and claiming to have underestimated him. Jisung is sure to milk it for all it’s worth—he figures if his huge ego doesn’t scare Minho off, nothing will. 

Jisung sticks around a little longer even as Minho has to get back to work, chatting with him between customers, standing close to share his body heat like a penguin as the sun starts to set. Jisung, already running late to meet up with his friends, regretfully leaves Minho behind, but not before insistently wrapping his scarf around him, pulling it snug and ignoring Minho’s stubborn claims that he’s _fine_ despite all his shivering.

"You can just give it back next time," Jisung calls, giving himself another excuse to return as he leaves, his newest pumpkin in one hand and a peace sign on the other.

The sight of Minho waving at him in his big kitty sweater and _Jisung’s_ warm scarf, looking cozy and fondly exasperated, won’t be leaving him anytime soon.

🍂

Jisung has bought so many pumpkins.

It’s become a regular thing, Jisung showing up unannounced and uninvited to bother Minho at work. He soothes the cold with coffee and hot chocolate and the boredom by chatting about anything and everything, from their favorite movies to their hobbies to making fun of the rude mom with the bad haircut that had very strong opinions about the difficulty level of their corn maze.

Jisung felt unusually comfortable with Minho after about five minutes of knowing him, and the feeling has only increased the more he spends time with and actually gets to know the older. They just _mesh,_ their banter and playful flirting flows so well, and Jisung knows a few weeks is too little time to _really_ gauge your compatibility with someone, but he’s never clicked like this with anyone before. It amazes him.

If he were any more of a hopeless romantic, Jisung would think he’s found his soulmate.

(He is and he does.)

He’s wrapping up another shift with Minho when the older boy takes him by the hand, sending sudden sparks of warmth to his core in the late-day chill of autumn, and pulls Jisung towards the hayride with a sense of urgency.

"Seungminnie! Seungminnie, wait!" Minho calls out to his coworker as he starts to unhook the trailer from the tractor, preparing to park it in the shed for the night. He heaves an exasperated sigh when he sees them coming.

"What?" he asks, dread visibly overtaking him. 

"Can you give us a quick ride?" Minho asks, flashing an overly-sweet smile that makes Seungmin roll his eyes. Jisung can’t blame him; he’s been around enough to see how much the two annoy each other―just as he’s been around enough to know that Seungmin isn’t nearly as annoyed as he lets on.

"I want to go home," he says. "You take him."

"I’m not driving that thing!" Minho gasps, offended.

"Then you’re out of luck."

"C’mon, Jisungie hasn’t been!" Minho wails like a petulant child. Jisung is holding back laughter beside him, hand still in Minho’s. "You’re really going to deny our most loyal and valued customer?"

He turns to Jisung then, so he takes the cue to give Seungmin his best puppy dog eyes. "Just one ride?"

Seungmin shakes his head with a chuckle, unable to completely hide his fondness for the annoying older boy and Jisung, who has convinced himself that he’s earned Seungmin’s fondness, too. "Fine. But you and your boyfriend owe me." He points an accusing finger at Minho.

Minho doesn’t correct him, never does, just beams and climbs onto the wooden trailer, unfortunately letting go of Jisung’s hand in the process. Seungmin begrudgingly gets back behind the wheel, barely giving Jisung a chance to settle on the uncomfortably scratchy haybale beside Minho before jolting them as he takes off without warning.

Minho laughs as Jisung nearly stumbles forward and faceplants, hands flying to his hips to steady him. Jisung feels his ears warm at the contact as he calls out a disgruntled _hey, warn a guy!_ Seungmin laughs heartily.

"I can’t believe people pay five dollars for an itchy ass," Jisung complains, shifting around on the hay and trying to get comfortable. 

Minho shrugs, unbothered as he gazes out over the field with a hum. "An itchy ass with a view." 

The red and yellow hues of the trees in the distance are nice, sure, but nothing more than a backdrop to Jisung. The _real_ view is right in front of him, he thinks, as laughably cheesy as it is. 

Minho looks ethereal in the light of the setting sun, orange hair and creamy skin glowing in the deceitfully warm-toned light. A shiver runs through him following a gust of wind and Jisung scoots closer, offering his warmth.

"Cold?" Jisung asks quietly, eyeing Minho’s hands where they rest in his lap, fingers peeking out from under the sleeves. He tentatively takes the hand closest to him in his own, intertwining their fingers. Minho’s eyes crease when he smiles, looking from their hands to Jisung’s eyes, opening his mouth to speak, but―

"It’s his own fault," Seungmin chimes in, the moment crashing down around them as Minho rolls his eyes.

"I know," Jisung agrees, clicking his tongue. "I keep telling him to bundle up more." He releases Minho’s hand to unwind his own scarf from his neck, wrapping it around the both of them and causing Minho to lean in closer.

"Why would I do that when I could just leech off of your body heat?" he sighs, taking Jisung’s hand again and resting his head on his shoulder. Jisung’s heart hammers against his ribcage like a bat out of hell. 

"Parasite," Seungmin remarks dryly. Jisung is pretty sure he’s ruining any potential Moment between them on purpose as payback for being forced to drive, but part of him is also grateful for the comic relief. 

Joking around with Minho, he’s used to. _This?_ Minho’s small fingers entwined with his, lightly stroking the back of Jisung’s hand with his thumb? His head on his shoulder, so close Jisung is scared to breathe and disturb him, scared to swallow lest he hear it? Uncharted territory.

He thinks he could definitely get used to it though.

"Be a good taxi driver and shut up," Minho retorts, nuzzling into Jisung’s side while Seungmin repeats his words in a mocking tone. Jisung creeps an arm around his back tentatively and Minho gives a pleased hum that relaxes him, allows him to mold to Minho’s shape. 

Suddenly Jisung’s itchy ass is the last thing on his mind, completely comfortable and warm with the cutest boy in the world pressed up against him. Nothing but them, the rumble of the tractor, the leaves falling around them… and Seungmin, of course.

He must have glanced back at them after some time judging by the disgusted noise he makes as he speeds up, crying _get me out of here!!_

Minho cackles evilly. "I live to make your life miserable," he tells Seungmin.

"Believe me, I know."

A scheming smile pulls at Jisung’s lips as an idea crosses his mind. "You know what would make him even more miserable?"

"Not you, too…" Seungmin despairs, his words practically gone unheard.

"Oh?" Minho perks up, head lifting to look at Jisung and oh _fuck_ his face is too close, this is a bad idea, abort, _abort_. "I’m listening."

The glint in his eyes tells Jisung that Minho already knows exactly what he’s getting at.

The words die in Jisung’s throat. He briefly entertains the thought of grabbing Minho’s face and kissing him right there, but as they’ve just barely entered hand-holding territory and he has no idea _what_ they are exactly, he decides against it. Instead, he goes for a safer option, tapping his cheek with a toothy grin.

"Good idea." Minho beams, his free hand cupping the opposite jaw while he puckers up and leans in the short distance to Jisung’s face, planting a loud, exaggerated kiss on his cheek. Every bit of heat left in Jisung’s poor body goes straight to that very spot—or at least that’s what it feels like, his cheeks scalding under Minho’s touch as he just laughs along with the older and smiles at him dumbly.

Seungmin retches violently. "Oh my God, why did I have to be involved in this?" He slams on the brakes, jostling the two in the back who cling to each other frantically to avoid toppling over.

Apparently they’d finished their trip and ended up back at the start, and Jisung doesn’t think Seungmin could be any happier about it as he hops down and immediately starts disconnecting the tractor from the trailer. Minho and Jisung are more reluctant, staying pressed close on the scratchy hay, still giggling about their sick prank while Seungmin grumbles to himself about unpaid overtime.

They make their way to the checkout counter eventually after thanking Seungmin, Minho pressing a piece of candy into Jisung’s palm like second nature. It’s not enough. Jisung can’t stop thinking about the feeling of Minho’s hand in his, his warmth against him, his lips on his skin, no matter how brief. 

He wants _more._ He wants to chase the warmth that’s bloomed between them, feed the little flame with something more than just hot chocolates and free candy and endless talks about nothing.

He wonders if Minho wants it, too.

He supposes the first step to finding out would be actually hanging out with Minho outside of work for once, solidifying whatever it is they have, allowing it to exist and giving it space to grow outside of the pumpkin patch. He just isn’t quite sure how to ask.

When Jisung tunes back into reality, gnawing relentlessly at his lip, he realizes Minho must have seen the gears turning in his head. He has him fixed with a concerned gaze as he dips down behind the counter.

"Pumpkin for your thoughts?" he asks, plopping Jisung’s pumpkin on the counter.

"Well…" Jisung starts, rubbing the back of his neck before mustering up some confidence as he leans in, an elbow on his newest piece of shit pumpkin. "I have a lot of pumpkins now."

"Uh, yeah." Minho laughs, the sound high-pitched and painfully endearing. "I imagine so."

"...And I'd hate for them to go to waste, but I don't know if I can handle them all on my own, you know what I mean?" He searches Minho's face for a reaction, only finding an amused smile and a cocked eyebrow waiting for the follow-up.

"That's a shame," he says. "No one wants to help you carve your fifty pumpkins?"

"It's not that many!" Jisung argues defensively. "But all my friends are busy or unwilling, plus my roommate's out of town, which leaves me _all alone_ to do _all_ this work..."

Minho's eyebrows raise higher. "And…?"

"My point is," Jisung says, smacking a hand on the pumpkin with a hollow _thump_ and a wiggle of his eyebrows, "these bad boys aren't gonna gut themselves, if you catch my drift."

Minho blinks down at the pumpkin in surprise and lets out a quiet _oh._

Jisung's confidence falters as he watches a light pink dust Minho's cheeks. Is he being too forward? Maybe it's too soon to invite him over. Should he offer to take him out for dinner first? Then again, it's just for pumpkin carving, it's not like he's trying to bone him. 

Yet.

Or maybe Minho doesn't want whatever might be going on between them to flourish. Maybe it's just a way to kill time, a form of entertainment other than a bunch of kids running around tripping over their shoelaces. Maybe he _wants_ the little flickering flame they have to die with all the leaves and plastic skeleton decorations.

Jisung is just about to backtrack when Minho interrupts his thoughts. "Okay. When?"

"Really?" Jisung squeaks. "Uh, how’s Friday night?"

He smiles. "I’ll be there."

🍂

Jisung feels like he's checking the time every minute as he paces his apartment waiting for Minho to arrive.

He goes over his mental checklist for the fifth or sixth time, confirming that yes, he _did_ get his dirty clothes out of the bathroom floor, sweep the kitchen, prepare all the pumpkin-carving tools, and even set out some snacks to hopefully last the night.

The pumpkins―eight of them, to be exact; he had more but managed to pawn them off to friends and family, thank God―are all lined up on some newspaper he’d spread over the living room floor, the coffee table pushed towards the television to make room, and Jisung has a self-curated Halloween playlist playing over his Bluetooth speaker.

The vibes are immaculate if he does say so himself; he can only hope Minho will appreciate them, too. He had tried to add songs that he couldn’t remember hearing on the playlist at the pumpkin patch, not wanting to make Minho feel like he was at work. Maybe he’s putting too much thought into it.

A knock on the door has his heart rate skyrocketing as he skitters over to peer through the peephole, confirming that it's Minho before he swings the door open.

"Hey!" Jisung greets with a wide grin, stepping aside to allow him entrance.

"Hi," Minho smiles, slipping his shoes off while Jisung closes the door behind him. He takes his scarf and coat off next and oh _fuck_ he looks good, the dim hallway light catching on the light glitter around his eyes and a black button-down shirt unbuttoned just enough to give Jisung a peek at his collarbones, jeans hugging his legs (have they always been that nice?).

Jisung wonders where the hell he'd been before this, looking like _that._

"You look, uh..." Jisung clears his throat, tearing his gaze from thick thighs as Minho turns towards him after hanging his things up. "Really good. Wow."

"Thanks." Minho beams, rubbing his hands together. He gives Jisung a once-over. "You look pretty cute yourself."

"Oh." Jisung feels his cheeks warm and he suddenly feels very underdressed in his own home―he's sporting an orange sweater with a black cat he thought Minho would like, black sweatpants, and goddamn candy corn patterned socks. How was he supposed to know Minho would show up to carve pumpkins looking like a fucking _model?_

"Um, thank you." Jisung rubs his arm awkwardly before remembering his duty as a host and beckoning Minho in, leading him to the living room. "If you're hungry, don't be. Just kidding. I can cook ramyeon or―ramyeon. Just ramyeon, actually. I've got some snacks and candy and uh... yeah. Make yourself at home!"

Minho stops in the doorway with an expression of bewilderment as he takes in the sight of the pumpkins and tools spread out on the floor like they were the last things he expected to see, lips parted in a little 'o.' He blinks rapidly as if to snap himself out of a daze before seemingly coming back to reality and fully entering the room.

Jisung watches him curiously, head cocked to the side. "You good?" he laughs, a little apprehensive.

Minho's head jerks towards him, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Hm? Oh yeah, um, I just..." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, exhaling deeply. He seems to debate with himself for a moment, then something along the lines of a chuckle falls from his lips. "You're gonna laugh."

Jisung's eyebrows draw together, beyond confused at Minho's sudden strange behavior. "At what?"

"I..." Minho purses his lips, settling down on the floor by the pumpkins with his back against the couch. He promptly drops his head into his hands, elbows resting on his knees, and laughs. "Never mind, it’s embarrassing. Forget it."

"What is it?" Jisung whines, settling down on the floor next to him, grabbing his arm and shaking him lightly. "C'mon, tell me! It's gonna drive me insane if you don't."

"It's humiliating," Minho groans, muffled by his hands as he feebly tries to escape Jisung's grasp. Judging by the firm muscles under Jisung's fingers, he could easily do so if he wanted, but that's the least of his worries right now (or at least that's what he tells himself).

 _"Tell meeee._ I won't laugh."

"You will," he says, finally removing his hands from his face with a huff and forcing himself to look Jisung in the eyes. "Okay. I didn't... I didn't think we were actually gonna carve pumpkins."

Jisung feels even more lost than before, trying to piece it together in his head. He had explicitly invited Minho over to carve pumpkins with him. What about that could have been misconstrued?

"What?" he asks, still absentmindedly gripping Minho's bicep. "That's... the whole reason I invited you over? What else would we..."

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait. Surely there's no way Minho thought...

Minho averts his gaze, ears unmistakably red.

_Oh my God._

Jisung jerks his hand away as if he'd been burned, the heat traveling to his face and sparking a warmth in his cheeks as he splutters, trying to voice a coherent thought. "W-Wait, really?" is all he can manage, voice cracking, eyes wide in disbelief.

Shit, no wonder Minho looked so surprised by the elaborate pumpkin carving setup. He thought they were going to just―no, God, Jisung can't think about it. He might pass out. He can't let himself think about Minho prettying himself up with Jisung in mind, can't think about the fact that he was ready and willing to―

Holy shit, Minho wanted to fuck.

"And you came anyway?" Jisung squeaks, face growing impossibly hotter from the realization sinking in and the sound of his own tactless words.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Minho mumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sucks his bottom lip between his teeth, only making brief eye contact with Jisung before turning to stare at his hands as he thumbs at his sleeve. "Look, I'm sorry. I―I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything―"

"N-No, it's okay!" Jisung assures him. "I mean, I kind of forced you to say it, didn't I?" He scratches the back of his head, searching for words while he gnaws at his lip. "I'm not uncomfortable, really, I just... I'm a little baffled. _How_ did you come to that conclusion?"

Minho looks at him again, blinking like he can't understand why he'd ask such a question. "I mean... I don't know, I guess it’s on me. I shouldn't have assumed, but usually when someone invites you out for the first time and it’s over to their house at night and they tell you their roommate is out of town..."

Minho is so cute it hurts. Every time Jisung has seen him, he's always been so put-together―cool, calm, confident, and smooth. Now, he can't look at Jisung for more than a few seconds, eyes blinking too fast, cheeks pink, hands fidgeting, words tumbling from his mouth nervously. Jisung is overtaken by an urge to pull him into a suffocating hug, calming his anxieties, and another, stronger urge to tease him until his face is hot enough to catch fire. 

"You sure you weren't just hearing what you wanted to hear?" Jisung asks cheekily, propping his elbow on the seat of the couch while he grins impishly at Minho. He's quick to shoot him a glare in return. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding. I guess I see where you're coming from, but as far as I can remember, I _did_ explicitly say I needed help carving pumpkins."

Minho grumbles something under his breath that Jisung can't quite catch.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, maybe if you didn't _spank_ the _pumpkin."_

Jisung's jaw drops in shock. _"What?"_

"Okay, look at it from my perspective," Minho says, clasping his hands together in front of him emphatically. "Someone who's _obviously_ into you invites you to his place, tells you his roommate's out of town, talks about carving pumpkins _suggestively,_ like, straight-up sounding like some kind of bad euphemism, and then slaps the pumpkin. What would you think?"

"I―I would think..." Jisung scratches at his jaw for something to do with his hands. "I mean, yeah, that's... that’s understandable, I guess. I'd still ask for clarification though. Probably."

"Yeah." Minho nods solemnly, electing to bury his face in his hands again. "I realize my mistake now, obviously."

Jisung definitely sees where Minho was coming from now and sympathizes with the poor guy, but with the initial embarrassment dying down he realizes how fucking funny it is, the complete shock Minho must have felt when he walked in and actually saw an army of pumpkins ready and waiting for him instead of Jisung. He bites down on his lip, trying to stifle the laughter that bubbles up in his chest, partially from Minho's complete mortification and also from the strange, giddy feeling that flutters in his stomach. He ultimately fails at holding it in, slapping a hand over his mouth when Minho looks up at him, scandalized.

"Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh!" Minho cries as he shoves Jisung's shoulder, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I'm sorry!" Jisung gasps between now full-fledged laughter. Minho cracks, too, joining Jisung in laughing at his own shame after a pained groan. Jisung falls into him, forehead on Minho's shoulder as he shakes with laughter. "I'm sorry. It's not funny."

"No, it is," Minho sighs, resigned. He runs his hand through his hair. "Could be worse, I guess. I'm just glad you're not like... repulsed, or anything."

"What? No way. I'm _flattered,"_ Jisung teases, batting his eyelashes. Minho scoffs, turning and offering a view of his insanely gorgeous side profile and maybe slightly less-red ears. "You're really cute when you're flustered, you know."

"Shut up," Minho grumbles and nudges him away with his elbow. "I'm not flustered."

Jisung laughs, patting Minho's arm and deciding to give him a break from the teasing. "It's okay. I mean, it's not like I wouldn't..." Minho fixes him with a _look,_ head tilted and eyebrows expectantly high and Jisung trails off in horror as he realizes what he was about to blurt out.

"Wouldn't what?" he asks, lips curling into a grin as Jisung feels _his_ ears heat up.

"Anyway." Jisung clears his throat pointedly, withdrawing his hand to rub the back of his neck and wondering what exactly is the protocol for situations like this, if ever a similar situation did exist. "I'm guessing you don't want to carve pumpkins."

"Who said that?" Minho grins, scooting a pumpkin towards himself and grabbing a carving knife.

"Really?" Jisung checks. Minho answers him by digging the knife into the pumpkin and cutting a circle around its crown. Jisung shrugs and picks one out for himself. "Should I put a movie on or would you prefer my sexy Halloween playlist for background noise?"

"Mm, as sexy as this playlist is," Minho says over the sound of "Spooky, Scary Skeletons" playing from Jisung's speaker, "a movie would be nice."

Jisung agrees and sets off to scroll through the Halloween movies available, taking a break to argue with Minho over whether _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie, eventually meeting in the middle and settling on agreeing that it's both.

Debating about the movie makes them want to watch it, and so they do, singing along obnoxiously to the songs they knew (all of them, in Jisung’s case) while working on their respective pumpkins. Jisung suggests they stick to the theme of the night and carve pumpkins inspired by the movie and Minho easily agrees, electing to carve Jack on his pumpkin while Jisung attempts Sally.

Minho starts to grumble in annoyance when he gets to the mouth and the vertical lines that run through it serving as teeth. Jisung, self-proclaimed professional, offers to help but Minho isn't having any of it, determined to do it on his own despite his obvious frustration.

"Would you still have come over if you knew I was actually gonna make you carve these dumb things?" Jisung asks, laughing as Minho huffs and drops his knife to stuff a few chips in his face.

"Of course," Minho says easily, eyes glued to the television while Santa Claus is kidnapped. "I mean, I would've dressed more appropriately for pumpkin gutting, but yes."

Jisung feels relief wash over him at that, knowing Minho is interested in him beyond whatever he might have expected to happen. He snorts, unsubtly admiring Minho, his form-fitting clothes, the pretty makeup he wears, not for the first time. His gaze lingers on his lips. 

"Yeah," he agrees, "you're pretty distracting like this."

Minho turns to him, blinking before ducking his head with a smile. "If I'm distracting you so much, maybe we should take a break?" he suggests, sliding the pumpkin away from him, not before giving it a look of contempt.

"Sure," Jisung chuckles, pushing his own aside. He's barely sat up straight for a second before Minho is grabbing his arm and tugging him to his feet, pulling him back down on the couch with him and slinging the arm in his grasp around his shoulders. Jisung's heartbeat stutters and picks up as Minho snuggles up next to him, resting his head on his shoulder. "You could've just asked," he laughs.

Minho's only response is to hum, and Jisung's only thoughts throughout the rest of the movie are of how warm Minho is, how nice he smells, how much he just wants to kiss him.

"Ah, I forgot how much I love that movie," Minho sighs, sitting up to stretch as the credits roll.

"Can I kiss you?" Jisung blurts.

Minho whirls around to face him, long eyelashes fluttering as he blinks rapidly. Jisung chews his lip and Minho's face breaks out into the prettiest smile he's worn yet, Jisung thinks, eyes wide and twinkling as he nods.

"Go for it."

So Jisung does. He raises a hand to the side of Minho's neck to gently guide him in, making the older visibly shudder. Jisung removes his hand instantly, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry. Cold?"

"It's okay," Minho laughs softly, placing a hand over Jisung's and pushing it back to rest on his warm, flushed skin. Jisung subconsciously wets his lips and leans in, butterflies fluttering behind his ribcage as he tilts his head to press a tentative kiss on Minho's waiting mouth.

His lips are so _soft_ and so warm, slotted so perfectly against Jisung's that he can't help but linger and savor the feeling before he pulls back just enough to look Minho in the eye, a silent request for more. Minho's eyes flicker over his features before they're falling shut and drawing nearer as he leans in again, a hand coming to cup Jisung's face while he kisses him, and kisses him, and kisses him until they're out of breath.

Minho ends up crawling into Jisung's lap, grabbing at the fabric of his soft sweater while their kiss grows a little more heated, a little desperate, tongues breaching their lips to get a feel for one another. Minho tastes faintly of the Doritos and chocolate Jisung gave him, and he's sure he tastes the same and wonders if Minho thinks it's gross, but Jisung can't get _enough._

He catches Minho's bottom lip lightly between his teeth and draws out a little gasp before Minho is crashing their lips back together. One of his hands slides to tangle itself in Jisung's hair, and Jisung sighs happily at the feeling of short nails scraping lightly against his scalp. His hands on Minho's waist move down to play with the hem of his shirt where it's become untucked, slipping a thumb in to caress his hip. Minho encourages him with a cute little noise so he pushes his hand in the rest of the way, ghosting up his side.

"Pumpkins," Minho whispers against his lips.

"Huh?" Jisung breathes, borderline delirious. 

Minho pecks his lips, pulling back to smile at him with pretty, swollen lips. "We should finish our pumpkins."

"Oh." Jisung blinks, belatedly registering the hand still up Minho's shirt. He pulls it out sheepishly, worrying he'd gone too far and ruined it. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Minho says, climbing off his lap with a final kiss and returning to his original spot on the floor. "I'd just hate to get too carried away and abandon your precious pumpkins until it’s too late."

"I mean, I'm sure they can wait?" Jisung tries, sliding off the couch and onto the floor next to Minho.

"Nice try, but I came here to carve pumpkins," Minho says matter-of-factly, ignoring Jisung's _no you didn't,_ "and by God, that's what I'm going to do."

Jisung scoffs as he grabs his pumpkin and picks up the discarded knife. "You're something else." Minho smirks, proud of himself, before returning to his rage-inducing pumpkin carving, leaving Jisung no choice but to do the same.

When Jisung invited Minho here, he expected they'd carve maybe two pumpkins each, taking care of at least half of them and making him feel a little better about all the money he wasted on them to not appear desperate or as completely smitten as he was. He'd never have thought Minho would show up prepared for something else entirely, that they would end up cuddling and making out on the couch for an hour, pumpkins forgotten.

Though the evening went nowhere near according to plan, Jisung thinks it's better than anything he could've imagined as he watches Minho work diligently, tongue poking between his lips in concentration while Jisung feels his own lips tingle from his kisses.

Jisung manages to avoid staring at Minho long enough to put the finishing touches on his pumpkin around the same time Minho finishes his. They bundle up and head outside to set them up on the porch, Jisung clapping excitedly at how cute they look next to each other, Minho's disproportionate Jack and Jisung's (rather impressive, if you ask him) Sally.

"Pretty cute couple, huh?" Jisung asks as he snaps a photo or six.

"Yeah, we are," Minho responds, shooting Jisung a bright smile when he turns to him.

"I meant the pumpkins!" Jisung says, grateful for the dark of night as he feels a blush creep up to his cheeks. "Duh."

"We could pass as pumpkins," Minho says, hand moving from pinching his orange hair between his fingers to grab Jisung's equally orange sweater, yanking and sending him stumbling forward. Jisung's hand lands on Minho's chest to steady himself while the older secures an arm around his back, holding him in place with his pouty lips only inches from Jisung's face. "You don't think so?"

"I think you're even cuter, _Pumpkin,"_ Jisung declares happily, looping his arms around Minho's neck and kissing the pout off his lips.

And maybe he gets too carried away, because before long Minho is laughing into the kiss and gently prying him off, ducking to escape his grabby hands. "It's late," he says, and it's Jisung's turn to pout, heart sinking even though he knows he's kept Minho plenty long enough. "Sorry. I have to be up early. Text me when you want to carve the rest of those pumpkins, okay? I won’t read it wrong this time."

Jisung laughs, Minho's cold hand patting his cheek. He turns to leave, but Jisung grabs his hand before he can. "Wait! Are―are you doing anything for Halloween?"

Minho shrugs. "Working. They're setting us loose in the corn maze and making us scare children."

"Sick," Jisung remarks. "Want company?"

He shrugs again, with a smile. "If you don't have anywhere else to be."

"Wanna come back here after and... watch a movie, or something?" Jisung asks. "But like, an actual movie. Not propositioning you for sex or anything."

"Fuck off." Minho rolls his eyes, holding back laughter. "Depends. Can we watch Corpse Bride and make out during the sad parts?"

"Oh my God, marry me," Jisung sighs, pulling Minho in for one last kiss.

"I'll think about it," he laughs, giving Jisung's hand a final squeeze before pulling away and heading for his car, the younger reluctantly letting him go. "Hey, do you have a Halloween costume yet?" Minho turns around abruptly to ask.

"No, why?"

"You should go as my boyfriend." Minho sends a terrible excuse of a wink his way, accompanied by finger guns, before turning back around and laughing to himself, that high-pitched cackle that's probably too loud considering the late hour, the one that Jisung has come to love so much.

"I've always wanted to be the Bride of Frankenstein!" Jisung shouts back, giggling when Minho flips him off in response. "Text me when you get home!"

"Will do, Pumpkin," Minho calls over his shoulder, beaming.

Jisung's teeth are chattering by the time he's done seeing Minho off and lingering outside to admire their jack-o-lanterns, but he barely feels the cold when the flame kindled by Minho’s goofy laugh, warm heart, and searing kisses warms him from the inside out.

He makes a mental note to thank his niece later for dragging him out of the house that day. And his friends, and parents, and grandparents, for taking most of his too-many pumpkins off his hands. And Minho, for the lifetime supply of free candy and something even sweeter in store.

Halloween is going to be good this year.

**Jisung**  
hey so are we boos now  
cause i wanted to give you a cute contact name like "my boo 👻💕" while it’s still in season  
or is it too soon

 **Minho**  
you’re so fucking cute  
and lame  
yeah do it

 **Jisung**  
well you’re boo-tiful  
been waiting for a chance to use that one

 **Minho**  
i am having second thoughts

 **Jisung**  
nooo don’t!!!  
go sleep before you change your mind!!

 **Minho**  
haha ok. but you’re on thin ice  
gn ♡ 

**Jisung**  
goodnight pumpkin ♡

**Author's Note:**

> legend has it they still call each other pumpkin to this day  
> thanks for reading! not sure how i feel about this one but let me know if you liked it~  
> [my twitter](http://twitter.com/mewnsung) ♡ [event twitter](https://twitter.com/minsungseason)


End file.
